Just as Instagram adds an interesting, and original music sharing option for Threads, it’s also seemingly experimenting with another feature that’s been copied from another app.
According to a finding in the back-end code of the latest IG app, the platform is working on a “Super Like” option for Stories.
As you can see in this example, posted by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi, Instagram’s Super Like, in its current form at least, would enable you to express your enthusiasm for a Story by pressing and holding on the like button on screen, which would then show the creator that you really liked their post.
Which YouTube also has for live stream comments, and Tinder has for prospective matches. So it’s another replicated feature making its way into the app, which is not necessarily a bad thing, and it’s clearly worked for IG in copying, like, Stories in its entirety (from Snapchat).
But what will be interesting is whether IG looks to charge users for their super likes, as both YouTube and Tinder do with their “super” functionalities.
As per the above screenshot, IG’s explainer says that users will only be able to use the super like option once per day. Which may suggest that it won’t be a paid option (as that would limit Instagram’s earnings potential), but instead could be a simple addition to express your interest, on a limited basis.
Which might be flattering, in that of all the posts a user has seen that day, they’ve chosen your post for special attention. It could also work as an algorithm signal, in that by super liking something, you’re telling the system that you’re extra interested in future posts from that user.
At the same time, it could also be a bit creepy. You can imagine that some will use this to indicate interest to a crush, and that interest may be unrequited. And after a few weeks of daily super likes, things could get a bit weird.
Either way, it may be an interesting addition to spark more engagement, by giving users another way to reflect their interest in a user and or/story.
Maybe it’s something that IG will look into and shelve, or maybe there’ll be more to it, and this is just an early prototype.
No word from IG as yet, but we’ll keep you updated on any progress.